November 13, 2016

The police have not found any evidence to support allegations that American billionaire George Soros was funding Malaysian civil societies to undermine Putrajaya.

Deputy Home Minister Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed said the Open Society Foundations (OSF) founded by Soros has been supporting environment-related programmes here for the past decade, The Star Online reported this evening.

“Police have not found any proof to show that OSF or NGOs in Malaysia are using foreign funds to organise activities that threaten the nation’s peace,” Nur Jazlan was quoted saying in Johor Baru.

However, the Pulai MP said the police will continue their investigations, adding that action would be taken against non-governmental organisations found to misuse the funds for political purposes.

Several local NGOs, including electoral reform group Bersih 2.0, the Malaysian Bar and news portal Malaysiakini have come under police scrutiny after they admitted to receiving grants from OSF.

Some pro-government outfits then claimed the funds were used to organise activities to oust the democratically-elected Barisan Nasional (BN) government.

Despite the denials and explanations by Bersih 2.0, the Bar Council, Malaysiakiniand OSF, the allegations persist.